Week 10, Term 2

Lord Jesus, through the cross we are reconciled to you and are your family under Christ. You call us to love one another just as you have loved us. So we pray that this NAIDOC Week, love will increase and the call for Voice, Treaty, and Truth will be heard. We ask this through Jesus Christ. Amen

Welcome to the Week 10 Newsletter. At last Friday’s Assembly, it was terrific to see the Reception / Year 1 Class share what they had been learning.

The last day of Term 2 for students is this Thursday 7th July. Students will be dismissed at the normal time of 3:15pm on Thursday. All students are invited to wear casual clothes on the last day of term. There will be no cost. Term 3 commences for staff and students on Monday 25th July. I wish all students a happy holiday with their families during the mid-year break.

This week we welcome Bridie Mead, Year 10 work experience student from St. Mark’s College, who will complete a four day placement in the Reception to Year 2 classes. Bridie is a St. James Graduate from 2019. We hope she enjoys her time back at St. James. We also welcome our two mid-year enrolments, Macy and Ava, for their third and final transition visit this Thursday. They will stay at school for the whole day.

All mid-year student reports will be sent home this Tuesday afternoon. Each student who is the eldest in the family will receive an envelope containing student reports. Parents may opt to meet with their child's teacher to discuss their report, if they wish, later this week or early next term.

I would like to thank the families who recently completed the family satisfaction survey. It is important to seek feedback so the school can continually improve. Overall, our results were quite favourable. I remind families that if there is ever a concern that needs to be addressed, please contact your child’s teacher or myself. If we are made aware of issues, these can be addressed by the school in partnership with families.

Our school has the 5Cs in place, which provide an excellent platform for student expectations to be adhered to. The 5Cs are Courtesy, Care, Cooperation, Communication and Consideration. This week we will spend time at morning assemblies and in class focusing on Consideration, which is about students playing and behaving in ways that will not upset, harm or hurt themselves or others. I ask parents to discuss what this might mean in the home as well as at school.

I would like to thank the whole school community for the support of the school this term, in what has been a challenging term due to COVID cases. Despite the challenges it has been a time where quality learning has still occurred, thanks to the dedication of our staff.

Mrs Judy Crawford, our Finance Officer, will finish her work at St. James School this Thursday after 20 years of service. Judy has shown true dedication and commitment to her role and the school and we thank her for her hard work. We wish her all the best for the next phase that life brings.

Mrs Gay Growden has skillfully taught Music this term to each class and began to prepare our students for the upcoming musical production to be performed in Week 10, Term 3, whilst Mrs Wurst has been on leave. We thank Mrs Growden for taking on this important role during Term 2. Mrs Wurst will be back next term.

Mrs Stacey, our Wellbeing Teacher, will be changing her work day from Thursday to Tuesday during Term 3. She will continue to work with individual students and small groups to support student wellbeing.

Mr Jed Sutter will be taking 5 weeks of leave at the start of Term 3. We wish him well as he begins his well-earned long service leave. During the first half of Term 3, Mrs Gay Growden will teach the Year 3/4 Class on Monday and Tuesday and Mrs Annie O’Reilley will teach an extra day each week, meaning she will teach this class on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. l will take on the Religious Education Coordinator role during the first 5 weeks of Term 3.

Mrs Judy Walkington, Admin Officer, will also be taking five weeks of leave at the start of Term 3. Mrs Peta Caulfield will be working each Thursday as well as her usual Monday and Friday during the first half of Term 3 to cover the admin officer duties. We wish Mrs Walkington well as she commences her long service leave.

This Friday 8th July is a School Closure Day. All staff will be involved in Faith Formation Training. As St. James is a Catholic school, it is important for staff to have time to reflect on what this means and to apply our Catholic identity in meaningful ways.

Below are the dates for our School Closure Days for the remainder of the year.

Friday 9th September – Term 3, Week 7 - Staff First Aid Training Day

Friday 16th December – Term 4, Week 9 - Curriculum Day

Last Friday we went live with Operoo! We are all very excited about this transition to digitalised permission slips and the time and energy it will save parents and staff.

Please keep a look out in your emails for the initial Sign Up message that was sent out last Friday. If you are yet to receive this message please check your Junk / Spam Box or contact the front office as soon as possible so that we can ensure you have the opportunity to sign up. 

We have allowed three weeks before we start using the app which will coincide with the beginning of Term 3. We ask that you take the time over to school holidays to sign up and verify the profile and details of your child / children.

The Year 3/4 students will head to Adelaide this Wednesday morning for a ‘Zoo Snooze’ sleepover. They will also visit Latitude before heading back to Jamestown on Thursday. We look forward to hearing about their adventures when they return.

On Thursday 30th June the Year 3-6 students made the short journey to the world famous Big Battery Power Facility at Hornsdale, just outside Jamestown. Students learnt about what the large Tesla batteries are made of, how long they last and how 97% of each battery can be recycled. We also learnt about the wind turbines that provide sustainable and green energy that is stored in the batteries. We would like to thank the Neoen company who provided the free bus travel for us and the tour of the facility.

An exciting employment opportunity is available. We are seeking a Finance Officer to work between two schools, St. James School and St. Joseph’s School, Peterborough for 28 hours / 4 days per week. For further details click on the link below, which contains the selection criteria and the position description document (PID) for the job vacancy. The position closes on Friday 8^th July at 4pm. Please spread the word.

https://www.cesa.catholic.edu.au/working-with-us/positions-vacant

Hockey

Congratulations to Annabelle, Alayla, Gus, Will and Harriet, along with their super coach Mr Rhind! Nine games of hockey over the 3 days was an awesome experience. No wins on the board but a great time was had by all and everyone certainly improved their skills and knowledge of the game.

Netball

Congratulations and well done to Alexis, Maggie, Eliza and Sienna. Lexi and Sienna and their Div 3 team managed 3 wins from their 9 games of Netball and thoroughly enjoyed their time. Maggie and Eliza and their Div 1 team didn’t come away with a win, but certainly developed their game. All players met and played with great people and loved their experience. Well done girls.

May the blessing of joy abide within you;

May the blessing of peace rest upon you;

May the blessing of love flow out through you;

May all the blessings of the Lord be yours through the school holidays.

Amen.

CONFIRMATION

Congratulations to the 12 students who completed their Confirmation on Friday night. A beautiful celebration made all the more special by having so many family and friends involved as well as having the Bishop presiding over the celebration. Please continue to keep these children in your prayers as they are now adults of the church and take courage and strength from the Holy Spirit to help and guide them.

SACRED HEART OF JESUS

Thank you to the R/1 Class for leading our Mass to celebrate the feast day of the ‘Sacred Heart of Jesus’ in Week 8. They confidently and reverently took part in many roles and spoke to us about how much Jesus loves us no matter what.

DIARY DATES- (Term 3)

*3/4 Class Mass - Feast of St James - Mon 25th July @ 11:30 (Week 1)

*First Communion Parent/Candidate Meeting - Tues 2nd Aug @ 6.30pm (Week 2)

*Mary Mackillop Day- JJJ Celebration- Mon 8th Aug (Week 3)

*Sacrament of First Communion- Sun 28th Aug @ 9.00am (End of Week 5)

*5/6 Class Liturgy- Father Figures Liturgy in the LC- Fri 2nd Sept @ 9.00am (Week 6) 

*R/1/2 Classes Mass- Grandparents Mass - Fri 16th Sept @ 9.00am (Week 8) 

                                                                Many Thanks, Jed Sutter   (REC)